Alcohol | Page 3 of 3
Mirto di Sardegna: The Sardinian Myrtle Berry Liqueur
Mirto di Sardegna is a Sardinian liqueur made from the berries of the common myrtle: the berries are picked in winter in the macchia, the dense Mediterranean scrub that covers half the island, steeped in alcohol for several weeks and sweetened with syrup; the result is around 30% ABV and is drunk ice-cold after a meal. Corsica and a few corners of mainland Italy know myrtle liqueur too, but only the Sardinian one carries the protected name - and it was made at home long before anyone started bottling it.
Limoncello: The Lemon Liqueur from Sorrento and Amalfi
On the label limoncello looks like a centuries-old heirloom, but its documented history only starts in 1988, when someone on Capri registered the first trademark. What kind of liqueur it is, why the IGP mark belongs to the lemon and not to the bottle, how the Sorrento and Amalfi versions differ, and how a bottle carried home from the square below the cathedral in Amalfi tastes.
Jameson Distillery: Tour and Tasting
The Jameson Distillery on Bow Street in Dublin is the birthplace of the best-selling Irish whiskey - except that the whiskey has been distilled in Midleton for half a century now, and Bow Street is a museum with a tour and a tasting. Plus the founder's Scottish roots, the difference between whiskey and whisky, and the angels' share you can smell in the air of the barrel warehouse.